Educational Leadership Commons^™

Increasing English Progress Proficiency Of Multilingual Learners Utilizing Improvement Science, Stephanie Corley Huckabee

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT This problem of practice addresses creating more positive outcomes for multilingual learners in achievement data for English Proficiency Progress matching or exceeding achievement data patterns of the general student population in a suburban middle school. Improvement science is the framework used to help solve this problem. The improvement team consisted of an assistant principal of instruction, a multilanguage learner teacher assigned to this school along with four additional schools, and the principal. The team began their work with the goal of understanding the current system by learning from students, families, and teachers about their experiences with multilingual learning. Potential …

Community College Academic Advisors’ Considerations Of Ethical Issues Related To The Use Of Learning Analytics, Anna Elizabeth Jones

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Learning analytics is an emerging trend in American community colleges brought about by technological advancements, institutional accountability, and external pressure on institutions to substantiate and improve learning. Learning analytics can potentially improve student engagement, retention, and success but also possess inherent ethical and legal challenges like student privacy and confidentiality violations and users’ bias and discrimination. Researchers know little about the ethical considerations of advisors who serve diverse student populations enrolled at community colleges, and there is a need to better understand various users’ experiences to mitigate poor ethical use and to protect multiple stakeholders. This multiple case study employed …

School Superintendents’ Perspectives Regarding Subordinates Developing, Utilizing, And Implementing Gifted Identification Equity, Vincent T. Landrum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study’s focus was the lived experiences of school superintendents about inconsistencies in gifted and talented education policy and ensuring the superintendents’ direct subordinates develop, utilize, and implement equitable gifted identification policies and practices, specifically for culturally, linguistically, and economically disadvantaged (CLED) students. Specifically, the researcher investigated the following: (a) the superintendents’ involvement in ensuring direct subordinates develop, utilize, and implement equitable gifted identification policies and practices for CLED students; (b) the superintendents’ involvement in ensuring their direct subordinates develop, utilize, and implement equitable gifted identification policies and practices for CLED students through professional development for those subordinates; and (c) …

Exploring The Application Of Compassionate Leadership Behaviors In The Workplace, Tracy L. Laurie

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This qualitative case study answers the central research question “How are compassionate leadership behaviors encouraged and/or discouraged in the workplace?” Interviews with five individuals from one work team in an Am Law 100 law firm revealed how the compassionate leadership behaviors of integrity, accountability, presence, empathy, authenticity, and dignity (Shuck et al., 2019) were applied at work. This research explored four themes: leadership courage, growth mindset, empowerment, and coaching performance. Each theme has four subthemes further describing the data: Leadership courage: managing consistently and fairly, being transparent, communicating honestly, and taking risks; Growth mindset: working intentionally, developing others, learning continuously, …

Teacher Self-Efficacy And The Inclusive Christian School Classroom, Richard J. Mudrow

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Research indicates that one in five students nationwide struggles with a learning difficulty or disability that affects the student’s ability to learn (Galiatsos et al., 2019). Nationwide, Christian schools are enrolling students with disabilities (SWDs), but it is difficult to determine the specific number of SWDs enrolled in Christian schools (Association of Christian Schools International, 2021). In the inclusive school setting, whether public or private, teachers and administrators are often underprepared in their approach to the education of SWDs (Cooc, 2019; Kirk et al., 2021; Krämer et al., 2021). The purpose of this study is to explore how teaching SWDs …

Resilience In Adolescent American Students, Steffan R. Larson

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The current study sought to determine if any meaningful relationship existed between perceived mental, emotional/behavioral, and academic resilience and overall resilience in adolescent American students. The current quantitative study was conducting using convenience sampling though a national school counselors’ website. Respondents were asked to respond to a modified version of the ARS-30 resiliency questionnaire as well as respond to a few demographic questions. The findings of the study demonstrated that each aspect of adolescent student resilience (mental, emotional/behavioral, and academic) were statistically significant predictors of overall student resilience; with academic resilience being the most statistically significant predictor of perceived overall …

2023-09-28 Faculty Welfare & Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate., Faculty Welfare & Concerns Committee.

Faculty Senate Records

Meeting minutes from the Faculty Welfare & Concerns Committee for September 28, 2023.

Qi In Resident Leadership Workshop, Heidi Y. Pareja, Chelsea H. Chang, Daniel Aragon, Deepu George

Research Symposium

Background: Many residency programs provide some type of leadership training for chief residents. As these emerging leaders transition into their role, it is imperative to provide them with skills and knowledge to help them develop their leadership style. UTRGV’s department of Graduate Medical Education (GME) organized their first “Resident Leader Workshop” for all rising Chiefs and GME Resident Leadership Council (RLC) members. Using a pre and post survey, participants provided feedback on the effectiveness of knowledge and skills presented during the workshop.

Methods: All residency and fellowship rising Chiefs and GME RLC members were invited. The workshop took place …

Trauma-Informed Gatherings: What Does It Mean And What Does It Take?, Chelsea Williams, Jamie Bain

Journal of Extension

As community members continue to experience racial trauma at both individual and community levels, our Extension team responded by adapting an anti-racism leadership training program to be more trauma-informed. Our team designed a tool using Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s trauma-informed principles to support public health practitioners to facilitate trauma-informed meetings. This tool can be a starting point for Extension professionals to create more trauma-informed gathering spaces in all areas of their work.

Fostering The Multicultural Efficacy Of Principal Candidates, Karen D. Jones

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This mixed methods study was completed with principal preparation candidates. Data was collected using the Multicultural Efficacy Scale (MES) and focus group interviews. Principal candidates’ multicultural efficacy was measured before and after participating in monthly diversity seminars and reflections. The diversity seminars provided first-person storytelling from diverse members of school communities including individuals from different LGBTQ, race, religion, socio-economic status, and language backgrounds. The study found principal candidates had improved multicultural efficacy at the end of the year-long diversity series. Research shows this could lead to supportive behaviors as social justice-oriented school leaders.

A Case Study For The Leadership Initiative For Supporting (Bilingual) Teacher Acquisition (Lista), Sarah M. Straub, Brian Uriegas, Tingting Xu

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This paper presents a qualitative pilot study program evaluation of the Leadership Initiative for Strategic (Bilingual) Teacher Acquisition (LISTA) program in a rural region of Texas. The LISTA program aimed to empower bilingual leaders in education by addressing the limited availability of leadership coaching, particularly tailored to recognize and affirm the cultural capital of Hispanic/Latino leaders. The sessions were organized and developed by an experienced leadership coach with a strong focus on equity and social justice in the education and nonprofit sectors. Through a methodology encompassing open-ended survey questions, focus groups, and reflective journals, this evaluation assesses the program's impact …

An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Leaders’ Cultural Competence And Academic Outcomes In Texas Public Schools, Summer Pannell, Brian Uriegas, Juliann Sergi Mcbrayer

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This study explored the cultural knowledge (CK) and cultural skills (CS) levels of Texas school leaders to determine if there was a relationship between cultural knowledge and cultural skill as well as between principals’ CK and CS levels and school academic outcomes. In comparing within-group scores, the results indicated CK scores were higher than CS scores in all participant groups. Between-group analysis revealed participants in non-Title I schools scored higher in CK, but Title I school leaders scored higher in CS. Results further indicated school leaders who identified as a member of a marginalized group scored higher in CS but …

A Cross-Cultural Comparison Of School Disciplinary Climate Between Asia And North America Using A Large-Scale International Dataset And Rasch Measurement Theory, Sijia Zhang

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

School disciplinary climate influences student outcomes. As a result, examining differences in principals’ perceptions of disciplinary climate within and across countries and regions may shed some light on decreasing achievement gaps. The quantitative study examined how principals from different geographical locations perceive school disciplinary climate differently with a subset sample obtained from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2021 package. School disciplinary climate was measured using the School Discipline and Safety subscale from the School Questionnaire. Results suggested that there existed statistically significant differences in the difficulty ordering of school disciplinary climate across regions, and these differences were …

Accountability Measures And The Instructional Measures That Promote Student Achievement In Low Socioeconomic Status Students, Shanna W. Vaughan

Student Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study was planning methods and instructional practices that educators use to address the needs of students affected by poverty. The problem addressed in this study was identifying common themes among classroom instructional strategies and classroom environmental factors that produce positive gains in student achievement. Those impacted by relevant data include school personnel who are seeking to provide a more equitable education for all students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine if educators’ knowledge of students’ socioeconomic status affects instructional practices and which practices promote the greatest academic gains among low socioeconomic status …

Examining The Influence Of Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence On Their Retention: A Case Study, Monica Ann Wilhelm

Student Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are leaving the profession as stress level continue to be on the rise due to emotional demands placed on teachers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the factors and how teachers interpret the influence emotional intelligence (EI) on the retention of teachers in the Arkansas River Valley. The theoretical framework for this study was EI theory. This theoretical construct was identified in 1990 by psychologists John Mayer and Peter Salovey. Mayer and Salovey theorized that emotional intelligence comprised of four concepts: “Identifying emotions on a nonverbal level; using emotions to guide cognitive thinking; understanding the information …

2023-09-21 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate meeting minutes from September 21, 2023.

2023-09-21 Employee Benefits Committee Revisal Response, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Response from the administration to the revised proposal for the Employee Benefits Committee submitted to the Faculty Senate on September 21, 2023.

2023-09-20 General Education Council Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate., General Education Council.

Faculty Senate Records

Meeting minutes of the General Education Council for September 20, 2023.

Print Versus Electronic: A Mixed-Method Exploration Of Student Preferences At Marathon University, Jennifer King Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

Academic libraries have been adapting and changing their collections with technology. Often, this technology has accompanied a conversion from physical collections, such as print books to electronic collections and electronic books. This mixed methods case study aimed to understand how first-generation college students at a public research university use print books versus electronic books. Data was collected using a survey based on the Academic Reading Questionnaire (Mizrachi, 2015) to assess the attitudes of both first-generation college students and continuing-generation college students towards these materials in the Marathon University Library collection. A qualitative semi-structured interview was also conducted, which focused on …

A Case Study Of Diverse Faculty Recruitment In A Graduate Higher Education Institution, Miguel Valenzuela

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to describe higher education faculty’s experience with recruitment and retention through the university hiring process and to discover the equity standards of the phenomenon for higher education institutions. The importance of recruitment and retention of diverse faculty within higher education institutions is imperative for the health of the institution and will assist in furthering diversity initiatives for faculty recruitment that will enable better student experiences. The theory guiding this study was critical race theory (CRT) that was initially intended to be used in the legal field. However, CRT has been used in …

The Low Retention Rates Of Nontraditional Students In Community Colleges: An Exploratory Case Study, Stephanie Rodrigo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore nontraditional community college students' experiences with student support services, their connectedness to the institutions, and their overall satisfaction with the institution. Tinto’s integration framework guided this study to test connectedness and its association with student retention rates. The central research question for this study was: What are nontraditional community college students' perceptions of their overall satisfaction with the institution? The study was conducted at Waynesboro Community College in Waynesboro, NC. The purposeful sample size selected included 10 nontraditional students as research participants. The triangulation of data collection methods used in …

A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Middle Managers: Self-Determined Lifelong Learning In The Banking Industry, Daniel K. Ray

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of middle managers in the banking industry practicing heutagogy to develop lifelong learning skills. The theory guiding this study is Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory and its relationship with lifelong learning. This study aimed to answer the central research question: What are the lived experiences of middle managers in the banking industry practicing heutagogy to develop lifelong learning skills? Data collected from individual interviews, focus groups, and journal prompts were synthesized using open and axial coding to identify patterns and connections in the resulting data. Data analysis followed …

Shared Experiences Of Novice School Principals' Mentor Training: A Phenomenological Study Of The Experience Of Peer Educators, Bryan Martyn

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the shared experiences of novice school principals’ mentor training and to gain an understanding of the experience of peer educators. This dissertation employed a qualitative case study methodology to interview Arizona principals with less than three years of experience who did not receive district-provided, formal mentorship training during their first years as principals to determine their experiences and support needs. I assessed the current literature on inexperienced principal mentorship programs in the United States via the lens of Kram’s Mentoring Model and then linked this literature to the principals’ reported concerns. …

Faculty Of Color In The Academy: A Perspective On Cross-Cultural Mentoring, Sherrise Y. Truesdale-Moore

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

Research has indicated that students’ race and their experiences and sense of belonging are associated with the racial characteristics of the faculty. This highlights the importance of recruitment and retention for faculty of color (FOC) in higher education. A formal faculty mentoring program is essential to providing an academic atmosphere that nurtures, supports, and develops faculty members’ teaching and research skills to assist them in feeling a sense of belonging within the university community is essential. However, finding the right mentoring program that addresses the daunting challenges among FOC is challenging. Upon reviewing the higher education faculty data and literature …

Assessing The Role Of The Northern Education Initiative (Nei) Plus Teacher Training Program In Enhancing Teachers’ Professional Development In Gamawa, Bauchi State, Nigeria., Aisha Yakub

Educational Studies Dissertations

The lack of access to quality education in northern Nigeria has proven endemic due to the incessant marginalization of the area by various governments since independence to date. The marginalization and lack of investment in teacher training institutions to bridge the manpower gap has created a vicious cycle of poverty, high illiteracy rates, and banditry in most of the northern states in Nigeria. Apart from the historical marginalization of these states, another critical factor that has been identified as contributing to this problem is the lack of professional development opportunities for teachers. The NEI Plus teacher training program is a …

Principal Perspectives Of Professional Development On Their Growth And Self-Efficacy: A Phenomenological Study, Melinda J. Stewart

Student Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated the perspective of principals related to the influence of professional development on their self-efficacy and professional growth. A qualitative, phenomenological study was conducted involving 14 school administrators from 10 different states with vary experience from 2 years to 17 years in an administrative position. The study utilized semi-structured interviews, field notes, and reflexive journals to gather data. Collected data were analyzed through coding and thematic analysis. Principals shared that the top professional development that supports their own professional growth centers around three themes. The themes were collaboration, supports for teachers, and personal investigation. The participants were …

Teachers’ Perspectives On Qualities Of An Effective Instructional Leader: A Phenomenological Study, Lindsey Renee Bohler

Student Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study highlighted teachers' perceptions and experiences with principal support in improving classroom instruction. The issue addressed in this study is that classroom teachers may fail to improve classroom instruction or raise student achievement without the appropriate support of principals. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the experiences of classroom teachers regarding the skills principals need, as effective instructional leaders, for classroom instruction. The phenomenon apparent in this study is the participants' experience working with principals that focused on constructing a culture of teaching and learning which created opportunities for collaboration among colleagues, provided professional …

2023-09-15 Institutional Review Board For The Protection Of Human Subjects In Research Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate., Institutional Review Board For The Protection Of Human Subjects In Research.

Faculty Senate Records

The meeting minutes of the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research for September 15, 2023.

2023-09-15 University Tenure Committee Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate., University Promotion Committee.

Faculty Senate Records

University Tenure Committee meeting minutes from September 15, 2023.

Crisis In South Carolina: A Phenomenological Study Examining Teacher Attrition Through The Experiences Of Educators Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kimberley Kristin Devers

Student Theses and Dissertations

As the COVID-19 pandemic ended, the number of teachers leaving the profession soared resulting in a teacher shortage that is crippling schools. Public education is faced with unstaffed classrooms, uncertified teachers, and students missing quality instruction. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to illuminate the experiences before and during the COVID-19 pandemic that led to educators in South Carolina exiting the profession. Using Maslach’s burnout theory as a guiding theoretical framework, qualitative data was collected during ten in-depth interviews with former South Carolina educators. Ten participants were chosen using purposive sampling and the following selection criteria: at least eight …